Folding seat.



H. SLAVITT.

FOLDING SEAT.

APPLICATION man FEB. r2. |916.

Patented May 29, 1917.

ATT R N EYS.

HARRY SLAVITT, 0F PLEASANTDALE, NEW JERSEY.

FOLDING SEAT.

Application led February 12, 1916. y'Serial No. 77,819.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY SLAvrrT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pleasantdale, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Seats, of vwhich the following is a specification.

My improved folding seat is adapted for a variety of uses and may be utilized whereever a support therefor is available. It may be used, for example, in connection with an ordinary chair by being attached to the back thereof, thereby providing a convenient substitute for a childs chair or high chair, as

at the dining table or as an auxiliary seating device for use in churches, theaters or the like, where children are taken, and I have, therefore, illustrated its use in connection with an ordinary chair but it is to be understood that itv may be put to a great variety of dilferent uses asoccasion may arise. Y

When out of use, a seat in accordance with my; invention may be compactly folded and ta es up but little space and may readily be put out of the way and be ready for use Whenever needed.

A seat in accordance with my invention is adjustable so that, fory example, when attached to the back of an ordinary chair, various heights of seat may be obtained, as, for example, it may be raised to give an infant a seat close up to the table, and its height may be reduced for an older or larger child or when used on chairs or other furniture or supports of different heights. With the foregoingand related objects in view, my invention consists in the parts, improvements and combinations herein,- described and claimed. A

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated, forthe purpose of alfording a clear understanding of my invention, one form in which it may be embodied, and in said drawing, Figure 1 isa view in perspective of a seatV embodying my4 invention shown attached to the back of an ordinary chair. Fig. 2 is a view taken principally in central, longitudinal cross-section ofone ofthe back members of the seat shown in Fig. 1. Fig.' 3 is an elevational view taken ,at right angles to Fig. 2 and showing` oneform of hook whereby the seat may be attached to a support,v and fFig. 4 is a plan view of the seat bottom and its frame. In all the'figures of specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917.

thevdrawing vthe same reference numerals are used to designate the same parts. Y

The seat bottom is designated'by the reference numeral 10 and may have the form shown of a bag `of flexible material as leather, or fabric of various kinds, such as canvas, heavy duck or the like. The material l1 is preferably stretched over a frame 12 extending aboutl the edges thereof,'and theV frame 12 may be of any desirable material as bent wood, heavy wire, metal rod or tubing. The top surface of the material 11 isl preferably cutaway so as to expose the frame l2 at or near the corners'of the seat bottom to enable the attachment of the members by which the seat bottom is held and supported, these cut-outs being indicated by the reference numerals 13, 14, 15 and 16.

' "The seat bottom material 11 is preferably made up in such a way as to be removable from its frame 12. In the form shown, it is provided at its forward end with a bottom flap 17 which may be held closed by suitable means, such asA a row of glove fasteners 18, and a rear flap 19 with suitable fastening members such as a row of glove fasteners 20 mayV also be provided, if desired, for facilitating the removal of the seat bottom material from the frame 12, as for washing the same when soiled, or putting on new material when frayed or torn.

The rear 'of the seat bottom 12 is attached to substantially rigid back members by which the same may be supported, as upon the back of a chair, and said jback members, while substantially rigid, are extensible and contractible longitudinally. In the form shown, the said members are designated generally by the reference numeral 21 and comprise relatively slidable portions 22 and 23. In the form shown, each of these 1oo Y per end4 of the member 23, and an inwardly v extending lip or flange 25 at the lower end of the sleeve 22.

Means of attachment between the frame 12 and the slidable member 23 are provided,

and in the form shown, each of the members 23 is provided with an opening 26 through which the frame 12 passes loosely, the members 23 being passed through the top surface of the seat bottom material 11 at the regions 15 and 16, respectively. With such form of attachment it will be seen that the parts may be readily collapsed when it is desired that the device be folded up and set away.

Atthe upper end of the extensible mem-.

bers 21, hook supports for hooking over the back of a chair orthe like are provided, and such hook supports have preferably a loose and fairly free connection with the upper ends of the members 21 so that they may adjust themselves to various conditions arising from differences in shape and form of the obj-ect to which the seats are to be attached. In the form shown, the sleeves 22, which extend to the upper ends of the members 21, are provided with openings 27 of comparatively large size, and the hook members are formedfrom wire 28, the wire in the form shown being of a comparatively smallV diameter withrelation to the size of the openings 27 and being given 'several bends so as to form a flat but strong hook for hanging the device upon a ledge of any sort, as the back of a chair. So long as the hook member, however, gives the requisite strength and the requisite loose and self adjustable connection to the sleeve 22, it may be of various forms, as will be understood. Y

Means are preferably provided for covering the hooks 2S to give the device a bet- Y ter lappearance and to prevent it from marring the furniture or the like, and this may be done, for example, by the use of sections of rubber tubing 29 which may be pulled over the hooks 28 and may preferably extend down somewhat over the upper ends of the sleeves 22, as illustrated. To prevent the members 21, 21 from being unduly separated or spread apart, as when hung over the top of a round back chair, means may be provided for limiting their distance from one another, and for this purpose a strap 30-with a buckle 31 may be used, and the same may be readily adjusted to give any desired distance between the supporting members 21. It may also serve as a convenient means for holding the device in collapsed position when not in use. Meansl are provided for holding the parts 22 and 23 making up the members 21 in proper position with respect to one another, and means are also provided for supporting the forward end of the seat bottom 1() from the members 21, and in the form of device shown, the means for these two p-urposes are connected togetherV so that the seat bottom 10 will always be maintained at,l the same angle with the back members 21. Y

For this purpose a harness of substantially V-form, which' may be of any suitable material as leather, strips of fabric or the like, is provided, and the same is supplied with suitable hooks placed respectively at the ends of the arms and at the angle`of theV V between the arms.. There is one such harness; for each of the back members 21, and the rear strip of the V-shaped harness is indicated at 32, and the strip extending forwardly to the front end of the seat bottom at 33. The'hooks at the angles of the Vs are designated by numerals 34, 34, the hooks at the lower ends ofthe strips 32, 32 by 35, 35 and the hooks at the lower ends of strips 33, 33 are shown at 36, 36. The various hooks may be attached to the harness in any -approved way, but as shown, loops 38, 38. are provided for the reception of the various hooks. The members 32, 32 serve to support the seat bottom at the back and to fix and limit the extension of the member 23 from the sleeve 22. As shown, a plurality of spaced apertures 39 are provided along the front of the sleeves 22, and the member 23 is provided with an opening 40 near the opening 26 in the lower end thereof. The hooks 35 are received in the openings 40 and the upper hooks 34 are passed through the openings 39 in the sleeve 22 and, as will be seenfrom Fig. 2, hook into the top end of the Vmember 23 when the same is Vof tubular form. As the hooks 34, 35 are connected by the strap 32 of substantially the length (with the hooks) between the holes 40 and the upper ends of thel members 23, it will be seen that the member 23 is thereby supported from the member' 22 and the extent of its withdrawal is determined, and furthermore, the telescoping inward movement of the member 23 into the sleeve 22 is prevented by the hooks 34, so that the position of the member 23 with respect to the sleeve 22 is completely determined. The forwardlyextending` strips 33, which are also supported by the hooks 34, terminate in the hooks 36 which are looped over the frame 12 at the cutaway regions 13 and 14, respectively. A guarrl such as the strap 41 may connect the members 33 to prevent small children from falling. Y

To vposition the seat bottom 10 at another height than that shown, it is only necessary to withdraw the hooks 34 and move the lower members 23 upward or downward to the desired extent and reinsert theV hooks 34 in the vproper opening 39, and the same may be accomplished without changing the anglevof supportpof the seat bottom 10 with respect to the back members, 21,

It will readily be seen that when the de- Vice is out, of use it may becompactly folded for putting away, the hooks 34, 34 being withdrawn from the openings 39 and the members 22, 23 being telescoped to their full extent, and the parts all folded neatly and compactly together, making a flat bundle of substantially the same extent as the seat bottom 10, and so folded or collapsed, a large number of my improved seats can be stored in a small space. This is a convenience particularly in theaters and moving picture houses where large numbers of small children are accustomed to be brought, and in the case of a proprietor of a moving picture house,'it is possible, by providing such accommodations, to collect an admission fee for children who otherwise would be held in arms, and to afford an item of service by the provision of such seats, which give his establishment a decided advantage over others where such facilities are not available.

It is to be understood vthat the construction shown is illustrated for the purpose of a'ording a clear disclosure only, and that my invention is not to be limited thereto except as it is defined in my claims, and numerous changes in form and differences in construction may be resorted to within the scope of my invention, and without departing therefrom or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

- Having thus vdescribed my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of sleeves, hooks at their upper ends for attachment to a supporting object, members telescopically re.

ceived in said sleeves and projecting from the lower ends thereof, a seat bottom connected at its rearward part to said members, and a substantially V-shaped harness for supporting said telescoping members and said bottom from said sleeves, substantially as set forth.

2. In a device of vthe class described, a pair of sleeves having hooks at their upper ends and holes at their forward sides, a pair of members telescopically received within said sleeves, a seat bottom connected to said members at its rearward part, and 'harness members received in said apertures for limiting the withdrawal of said members from said sleeves and for supporting the forward side of said seat bottom from said sleeves, substantially as set forth.

3. In a device of the class described, a pair of apertured longitudinally eXtensible,

substantially rigid back members, hooks at their upper ends, a seat bottom, and means for suspending said seat bottom from said back members comprising hooks received within apertures in the back members, substantially as set forth.

4. In a device of the class described, a pair of sleeves, hooks at their upper ends, said sleeves having inwardly extending iianges at their lower ends, members having enlarged upper ends received within said sleeves and projecting beyond the lower ends thereof, means for limiting the projection of said members beyond said sleeves, and a seat bottom supported from the lower ends of said members at its rearward portion and supported at its forward portion from said sleeves, substantially as set forth.

5. In a device of the class described, a pair of telescoping, substantially rigid back members, a seat bottom, and a harness for limiting the eXtension of said members and for supporting the forward portion of the seat bottom from said members, substantially as set forth.

6. In a device of the classdescribed, a pair of back members comprising sleeves having hooks at their upper ends adapted to be hooked over a support as a chair back, extension members telescoping in said sleeves and projecting from their lower ends, and a harness for supporting a seat provided with hooks entering apertures in said extension members and with other hooks entering apertures in said sleeves, substantially as set* forth.

7. In a device of the class described, a sleeve, an extension telescoping therein, said sleeve and extension being provided with apertures, and a member of substantially the same length asv the extension and adapted to enter .an opening in said eX- tension and an opening in the sleeve adjacent the upper end of the extension and to hold said extension 'from movement either in or out of said sleeve, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand, this 7th day of February, 1916.

HARRY SLAVITT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, 

